German Government Appoints Rabbi for Army for First Time in 90 Years

"CNN" a US news network revealed the German government has recently appointed a Jewish rabbi for the first time in 90 years since Adolf Hitler had dispelled Jews from the army in the 30s of the twentieth century.

The newly employed rabbi will lead the Jewish rites of the German soldiery.

Rabbi Ziswalt Balla, 42, was born in Hungary in 1979.

He studied engineering in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, before moving to Germany in 2002.

In 2009 he completed his rabbinic studies.

During eleven years he worked as a rabbi in Leipzig city in the east of the country, and in 2019 he also held the position of chief rabbi in Saxony State.

Balla was sworn in yesterday at a synagogue in Leipzig, as officials hope his appointment will highlight the open and perse face of the German armed forces.

"I think every responsible person should be concerned about this issue," Balla told CNN about the phenomenon of extremism in the German armed forces.

He added that "military rabbis will not solve the problem within one week," adding: "We have to work with a future vision that shows how we want German society and the army to look in a decade."

It should be noted that Bala will be one of 10 rabbis who will subsequently be appointed to provide religious care for an estimated 80 to 300 Jewish soldiers and officers currently serving in the German army.

The German Interior Ministry revealed that the country is witnessing an alarming rise in anti-Semitism, and that reported anti-Semitic crimes rose by 15.7% to 2,351 last year.

Germany's defense minister said on June 18, that the reputation of the German army is on the line after several soldiers were accused of making racist and anti-Semitic statements and sexual violence while on duty in Lithuania.

In a speech to a number of officers, Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed that "anyone who acts in this way should not be in the German army."

Last Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense recalled about 30 German soldiers from service in Lithuania, where they face the possibility of immediate dismissal.

The magazine "Der Spiegel" said that some German soldiers got drunk in a hotel to a great extent, and sang "Happy Birthday" to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.